Newcomer Challenges Sisisky

Wanted True `Race'

June 14, 1990|By ESTHER MORGO Staff Writer

CHESAPEAKE — The challenger for Virginia's 4th Congressional District officially entered the race against Rep. Norman Sisisky on Wednesday, saying he can win the seat with hard work and grass-roots support.

Running under the banner "A Positive Choice for the Working Person," Don L. McReynolds, a retired sheet metal worker, said he "walked a pair of wing-tip shoes in half" gathering more than a thousand signatures by traveling to festivals and knocking on doors.

The McReynolds campaign got 1,776 signatures, 496 more than the 1,280 required by the State Election Board formula of 0.5%of the registered voters in the district. The 50-year-old Chesapeake resident is running as an independent against Sisisky, a Democrat and eight-year incumbent who has been unopposed since his 1982 victory over then-incumbent Republican Robert W. Daniel Jr.

"It isn't a horse race unless there are two horses. That's why I'm running," McReynolds said. "My opponent is wealthy, and he's an incumbent, so the odds are against me. But that will not stop me."

He announced his intention to challenge Sisisky in February 1989.

McReynolds plans to fund his campaign with grassroots events such as a flea market, a craft show and cookbook sales, said his wife and campaign manager, C. Joyce McReynolds. She said that several political action committees have approached her husband, including the National Restaurant Association.

"I plan to get a lot of support from people I can relate to," McReynolds said. "People that are in huge corporations I don't expect to be favorable to me."

McReynolds said that he plans to "stay with the issues" and force the incumbent to do the same.

He said that he supports a plan for daily overtime, which would pay overtime wages for any period in a working day longer than eight hours. The plan would prevent situations where an employee is paid regular time for three 12-hour shifts in a row, he said.

A supplemental Social Security savings plan to combat the national debt is also part of his platform, McReynolds said. Under the plan, the government would withhold 3 percent of a worker's wages and place the money in an interest-bearing account until the worker reaches 65 years of age. At that time, the person could reclaim the money.

McReynolds said he supports more extensive hiring of disabled workers, suggesting that companies could earn tax credits as an incentive for employing disabled workers. "I think there are a lot of positions that could be filled by people that are disabled," he said."Even working at minimum wage would be a step for some of them."

McReynolds' left leg was amputated below the knee in 1976 as a result of an injury from a work-related accident, according to his biography. He lost half of his right foot in 1988 as a result of further complications.

McReynolds said that he is concerned about defense cuts, noting that each program must be evaluated separately. "We can't cut everything to the bone," he said. "We have treaties and so forth that we have to honor."

Although McReynolds said that he disagrees with the recent Supreme Court decision that flag burning as a form of protest is a constitutional right, he is concerned about proposals for an amendment to protect the flag.

"I think the less you do with that the better. The Bill of Rights has stood the test of time," he said. But "if it came to a vote on the matter, I would probably support it," said McReynolds, adding that he would also support an amendment to enforce a balanced budget.

The 4th District runs from Emporia to Petersburg to Portsmouth, and includes Suffolk and Isle of Wight County.